Now that Spring is just around the corner homeowners are starting to look forward to moving ahead with renovations and possibly some new builds.  Coast Expressions looks forward to joining your team and working with your clients in choosing their plumbing fixtures.  Remember, we have the widest selection of product in North Vancouver, and we have knowledgeable, friendly and helpful staff.

Our location:  #111 – 930 W 1^st St., North Van – just west of Dick’s, across from Rona.

Hope to see you and your clients soon.

Cheers,

Joan

Don’t misunderstand me…Designers do a great job!! But, they do not usually know plumbing inside and out.  It is best if they choose the look, or even the specific faucet and china for the client, and let a plumbing specialist do the final product specification list.

I did an exercise yesterday for a client.  Because I wasn’t offering her a discount, she wanted to check the pricing offered by other showrooms.  I phoned them and got their Retail and Selling (Discounted) prices.  They had inflated their Retail prices and then offered “20%” discount on that price.  OUR BOTTOM LINES WERE THE SAME!!!  Now, to be fair, the salesperson was using the company’s computer system where all pricing was already structured.  The employees often have no idea that their Retail prices are not the same as the Manufactures Suggested Retail Price.  At Coast Expressions we use the hard copy of price lists.  You see the price that the manufacture suggests for their product.

If you have read my Blogs or have perused my website, you know I feel that shopping around should not be all about the best price to be found.  Knowledge, service, integrity are also very important.  You need someone to guide you through the maze of product.  You want product that will do the job.  You don’t want problems on the job site because of the product being incorrect.  All of these factors will affect the PRICE of the overall renovation or build.

I advise most of my clients to have a handshower, at the very minimum, for any shower installation.  There are a few reasons for this. 

• The most important one is that using a handshower is the easiest way to clean the shower or tub; rather than filling a bucket with water running from a fixed shower head or tub spout.
• A handshower is wonderful for personal cleaning, especially for women.
• Again, especially for women, a handshower on a bar can be brought down to shoulder height so that the hair does not get wet during a shower.
• A handshower installed on a bar is perfect for different users; it can be put at a height that is perfect for each individual. 

When you are buying from a reputable company, which specializes in plumbing fixtures, you are not loosing quality of shower by choosing a handshower.  Most manufacturers are using the same technology in their handshowers as they use in their fixed heads.

A handshower can be fixed at a given height, in a clip attached to the wall.  If you choose to go with a clip, ensure that it will tilt so that you can direct the flow of water downward.  Some clips do not position a handheld in a useable position.  BUT, make sure that it will stay up with the weight of the handshower!

There are a few clips on the market which even double as the water elbow as well, which gives a much cleaner look to the installation.

Now, many manufacturers have brought out handshowers doubled with rainheads that are able to be retrofitted.  A fabulous solution to single source showers and a client’s desire to update without the expense of a huge renovation.

Job sites that work with Coast Expressions experience very little frustration or down time.  The goods that are delivered are the correct goods for the application.  Seldom are there items missing from an order.  If goods are faulty or are missing parts, Coast Expressions has the knowledge and professionalism to have the corrections made quickly and accurately.

Clients receive valuable advice and assistance in putting a package of plumbing fixtures together.  This service often includes plan review and/or space planning.  Coast Expressions also offers custom cabinet lay-outs to clients.

There is much to be gained by using a company that offers quality service and knowledge.

One of the very special aspects of Rubinet faucets is the ability to make them a custom look.  They have a wide variety of finishes and colours available that can be applied to any faucet in their line.  Many of the faucets are designer designed and are very distinctive.  Rubinet has a huge range of Essentials that allows us to have everything under the counter, or exposed under a vessel sink, finished in the same colour as the faucet above the counter!  A huge extra touch that makes all the difference in creating that perfect bathroom.

Why is this important?  Because it will impact what valve goes into the wall.  What many consumers do not realize is that this valve is very integral to how you control the water in the shower and to what handle goes onto the wall.  Meaning, the valve will affect the usage and the aesthetics of the shower.

Many plumbers, if left on their own, will install a very basic valve.  It is inexpensive and easy to install.  They have installed so many of them that they can almost do it with their eyes closed.  Whereas, some of the valves that are on the market now give you the ability to run numerous water sources and have control over the temperature as well.  So, you must control this from a very early stage of your renovation or build.  Your plumbing specialist can walk you through the process of deciding what is important, what your parameters are and what valve best suits what you want to do in your custom shower.

Stay tuned for more in the next few days.

The 1 hole faucet is a single hole, single post style of faucet. It usually comes with only one handle, off the top or from the side of the body of the faucet.  This handle controls both the volume of the water and the temperature of the water.  There are many style of spouts and handles offered in this style of faucet.

Some manufacturers have produced single hole faucets with separate hot and cold handles coming off the post of the faucet, usually one from each side of the post.  The handles very often are offered in either a lever style or a cross handle.  Again, there are many styles of these faucets, from the very modern to a very traditional look.

There are two other styles of faucets, both of them requiring a three hole drilling.  One is called the 4” drilling faucet, the other is called an 8” drilling faucet.  Basically, if you can fit your hand flat between two of the holes, you have an 8” drilling sink.  If you can fit only a couple of fingers between the holes, you have a 4” drilling sink.

A 4” drilling faucet will be much less expensive than the 8” drilling faucet.  It will also not have the same quality of look, but may have a similar style to an 8” faucet, depending on the manufacturer.

The 4” faucet category also breaks down into two other categories, the centreset and the mini widespread.  A centreset faucet is very basic.  There will be a bottom plate with two handles (hot and cold) and a spout coming out of the plate, or a spout coming off the plate with a single handle coming off the top of the spout.  The mini widespread faucet actually comes in three separate pieces – 2 handles and the spout.  These faucets are a little more expensive than the centreset, but also have a lot more style than a centreset.  Both of these types of faucets will come in many styles.

The 8” faucet is also known as a widespread faucet, where the two handles and the faucet are installed separetely with a few inches between them.  A widespread faucet is usually quite a bit more expensive than the other styles of faucet, but they offer an elegance that a 4” drilling faucet just can’t compete with.  The 8” faucet will be found at all price points, and quality, but will always have a panache about them that just doesn’t compare to the other drillings.